Pete Buttigieg’s old stomping ground in the northern Indiana county that includes South Bend turned red in 2022 for the first time in history. Why? For one, people are fed up, but for another, and perhaps more significantly, good people are getting involved and we finally have a full slate of qualified conservative candidates that we can get excited about. These aren’t politicians or people desperate for their moment in the limelight, they are moms, entrepreneurs, business owners, everyday people who are stepping up to the plate.

The new chair of the St. Joseph Republican Party, Tyler Gillean, is now taking an unprecedented step. He recently sent a letter to all Republican candidates declaring war on Republican in-fighting.

“I want to thank all of you for having the courage to sign up to run for office. I did it before and know what you are going through at the moment. It’s a stressful and difficult time in your life where you make a lot of sacrifices in treasure and time.”

“If anyone, or their surrogates go negative in this primary campaign against a fellow Republican, I will come out strong against the offender. I will deploy every resource within my power against that campaign. If anyone has problems with this you can call me directly, take this as your only warning.”

“Let’s have a good, clean race and support each other when it’s all done. We need every single person in this party. Democrats outnumber us by 4-6 points in this county at all times and it took a titanic effort by a lot of people to get the very slim wins we had in 2020 and 2022. Most of you are new to the party and may see how things are done in Republican primaries at the national level, but it won’t be tolerated here.”

In his response to the local conservative news outlet Real News Michiana, the GOP chair also stated:

“We are in uncharted territory as a party. In years past, the GOP would have to beg people to be candidates. Now, we have a pool of qualified individuals lining up to serve their community. It’s my job to ensure we keep the peace.”

“For the first time in decades we have a full countywide ticket.”

In this historically Democrat county, former home of Studebaker, Bendix, Singer Sewing Machine, Oliver Plow, South Bend Lathe, and many other legendary companies that left behind abandoned, empty buildings, things are finally looking up. Change starts from the bottom up, and that includes every one of us.

Image: Ken Lund